15 year old kid gets suspended for quoting Gus Johnson

[Paul Van Scott]

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschoo ... 10438.html



As first reported by the Sandusky Register, the Margaretta School District announced that it had punished a 15-year-old who had said the following of a player who is of Haitian descent: "He's got that getting-away-from-the-cops speed." The player was competing for a 7th grade team from a school from the Edison School District, which was visiting the unspecified Margaretta middle school.

The Register reported that the unnamed student's punishment will not be revealed by Margaretta officials, though district superintendent Ed Kurt made it clear that they had taken corrective actions.

"We worked with the student, and we hope this is a learning experience," Kurt said. "We want to move forward in a positive fashion."

The reaction to the in-game quote has been both rapid and relatively fierce. The teen announcer has been threatened with bodily harm on Facebook by those who were offended by the call. That in turn has led local detectives to investigate the issue and determine whether harassment charges should be filed against the aforementioned Facebook commenters.


In the meantime, the boy and his parents insist that the high schooler learned the phrase from the uber-popular Madden 12 video game, which frequently will declare that a player has "get-away-from-the-cops speed," on touchdown runs, particularly when the player in question is of African American descent.

The quote was first used by Fox announcer Gus Johnson, who credited Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson with the off-the-cuff intended compliment on a run in the video you see above.

"Watch out! He's got getting-away-from-the-cops speed!" Johnson said during the broadcast of a Titans game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Because the quote has been used on both television and video games before, the teenager's parents claim that he was punished unfairly and are now investigating a potential lawsuit against the Margaretta district.

As of now, there is apparently only one figure in the story who hasn't made his opinions felt: The ball carrier who inspired the quote in the first place.

[Brady Stiff]

Young broadcasters frequently emulate and quote guys they hear on TV. I know I've done it. I've never used a quote like that, though. I get the implications and why people might be offended...though personally I'm not offended.

There are better ways to describe an athlete's speed, IMO. We have to be careful of what we say.

[Jon Chelesnik]

If kids shouldn't be saying it, Gus shouldn't be saying it either. With that being said, too big a deal is being made about this.

[Bob Rotruck]

He's 15. Mistakes happen. And I'm not even sure it is really a mistake in the first place considering that Gus has used the line also with apparently no consequences. Suspending and/or criticizing the choice of words if he were a professional broadcaster would be on thing. But 15?!

My student radio broadcasts when I started, at 19, weren't available on the internet and were heard by pretty much nobody. Much easier to get away with terrible errors or mistakes in judgment back than at the beginning of my learning process. I remember one off-color joke I stole from somebody that I didn't quite understand then because I was kind of clueless that definitely would get me into hot-water if used today.

[Marky]

First of all, anyone threatening this guy on Facebook is guilty of a far greater sin than anything the broadcaster said.

But "Get-Away-From-the-Cops" speed is a bad analogy, to be put alongside the throat-slash jesture for poor form.

It's important that the broadcaster get away from the phrase. I'm not so sure he needs to be punished (You repeated a statement from Gus Johnson- NOW STAY AFTER SCHOOL FOR A WEEK!), but a little communication wouldn't hurt.